Arrangement for raising railroad tracks



1969 JEAN'JACQUES BQYER 3,481,278

ARRANGEMENT FOR RAISING RAILROAD TRACKS Filed Jan. 15, 1968 Myra r e din/v Jamar: do ya? United States Patent 3,481,278 ARRANGEMENT FOR RAISING RAILROAD TRACKS Jean-Jacques Boyer, 40 Rue de la Federation, Maisons-Alfort, Val de Marne, France Filed Jan. 15, 1968, Ser. No. 697,962 Int. Cl. E01b 33/00 US. Cl. 104-7 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE- DISCLOSURE A track-raising arrangementcomprising two lines of electromagnets adapted to progress each over the corresponding rail. Each electromagnet is pivotally carried between the ends of two auxiliary rocking levers pivottally carried in their turn by the corresponding end of a main rocking lever. The main rocking levers corresponding to the two rails are pivotally connected to a body pivotally carried underneath a machine running over the rails. A very smooth engagement between the electromagnets and the rails is thus ensured.

My invention relates to arrangements to be carried by the machines which serve for remaking railroad tracks, generally called ballast-clearing machines, which arrangements are adapted to raise the rails so as to allow introducing under the ties ballast-clearing and ballastdistributing implements. Known arrangements of this type include electromagnets cooperating with the rails and exerting on the latter an attractive force capable of raising them, together with the ties rigid with said rails. However, the frictional forces arising between the electromagnets and the rails during progression of the machine are very high by reason in particular of the large magnetic attraction required as a consequence of the poor contacting relationship between the electromagnets and incurved rails. Lastly, it is often necessary to shift transversely the raised track, so as to allow for instance the passage of the machine alongside an obstacle.

According to a first feature of my invention, the means cooperating with each of the rails include a plurality of electromagnets pivotally connected in proximity with their contacting surfaces with pendular members. There are preferably four electromagnets for each rail, said electromagnets being pivotally secured pairwise to the ends of two corresponding pendular members which are themselves pivotally secured to the ends of a central pendular member, which is in its turn pivotally carried by the body of the arrangement, the various pivotal axes being perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the arrangement.

According to a further feature of my invention, each electromagnet carries two rollers adapted to bear on the corresponding rail and fitted on the corresponding end of the electromagnet in a manner such as to form a gap of a reduced height between the electromagnet and the surface of the rail. Said rollers are preferably carried through the agency of eccentric bearings, so as to alford a compensation for wear.

According to a still further feature of my invention, the frame of the rail-raising arrangement is rigid with the body of a double-acting jack, the two ends of the rod of the jack being secured to levers and to auxiliary carrier jacks, the other ends of which are secured to the frame of the machine.

According to a last feature of the invention, the polarities of the electromagnets of a same group cooperating with a rail are arranged in alternation so as to cut out any remanent magnetization.

I will now describe, by way of example, an embodiice ment of an arrangement raising railroad tracks, executed in conformity with my invention, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the arrangement.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view through line line 11-11 of FIG. 1.

My improved arrangement is adapted to raise a railroad track constituted by the rails 1 and the ties rigid therewith. It is secured underneath the clearing away machine by two arms 3 pivotally secured at 4 to the frame of said machine and at 5 to two trunnions 6 provided at the ends of a transverse spindle forming the piston rod of a double-acting transverse jacket 7. The arms 3 are furthermore subjected to the action of corresponding hydraulic jacks 8, the cylinders of which are pivotally secured at 9 to the frame of the machine, while the ends of the piston rods 10 of said jacks 8 are pivotally secured at 11 to flanges rigid with the arms 3. The transverse jack 7 is rigid with the main frame 12 of the track-raising means, which frame, constituted by a system of welded plates, carries a transverse spindle 13 forming the main rocking axis for the whole track-raising means considered per se.

To either side of the main body 12 and to either side of the axes of the rails, the spindle 13 carries revolvably four main rocking levers 14. To the ends of said rocking levers 14 are pivotally secured, across the levers of each pair longitudinal spindles 15 serving as pivotal axes for auxiliary rocking levers 16, each of which lies adjacent the corresponding end of a main rocking lever. At each end of the lower surface of each auxiliary rocking lever 16, there is fitted a stub shaft 17 serving as a pivotal axis for a flange 18 rigid with a track-raising electromagnet 19. Each of the latter, carried by its flanges between two auxiliary pivoting levers, includes in the usual manner a yoke carrying a winding and provided two two polepieces 20. The pole-pieces 20 are adapted to enter a position very near the rail 1, so as to exert on the latter a raising force.

In order to prevent any adherence between the polepieces 20 and the rail 1, each of the eight electromagnets lying between the cooperating ends is provided with two rollers 21 fitted respectively beyond the front and the rear of said electromagnet and adapted to engage the upper surface of the rail 10. The rollers 21 are preferably carried eccentrically in bearings formed on the electromagnets, this allowing a compensation for wear.

With the above-described track-raising means, the polepieces of the electromagnets lie always at an unvarying short distance from the rail head and each of the four electromagnets cooperating with a rail follows freely the deformations of said rail by reason of the pivotal connections through which the arrangement is suspended.

The rollers 21 reduce considerably the resistance against a relative shifting of the track-raising means with reference to the track, whatever may be the value of the attraction exerted by the electromagnets.

By reason of the connection provided by the doubleacting jack 7 between the suspension arms and the actual track-raising means, it is possible to shift transversely the raised track, chiefly to allow a passage along side a hindrance. Lastly, the height by which the track is raised may be readily adjusted by actuation of the jacks.

The above-described embodiment described by way of example may obviously be subjected to many modifications, without widening the scope of the invention defined by the accompanying claims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a ballast-clearing machine, the provision of a track-raising unit comprising a body, suspension means through which said body is secured to the underside of the machine, two primary rocking systems pivotally secured to the body at points thereof facing the corresponding rails, a plurality of auxiliary rocking systems pivotally secured to each primary rocking system, distributed longitudinally round pivotal axes on the latter, and electromagnets pivotally secured to each auxiliary rocking system at points longitudinally spaced from the pivotal axis of the latter, said electromagnets operatively facing the location of the upper surface of the corresponding rail.

2. A track-raising unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the suspension means include a transversely extending double-acting jack including two slidingly interengaging parts of which one is rigid with the body of the unit, an arm pivotally connecting each end of the other part of the jack with a point of the underside of the machine and auxiliary jacks pivotally connecting said other part with another point of said underside.

3. A track-raising unit comprising a body, a spindle revolvably carried by the body and extending transversely over the rails to be raised, two primary rocking systems each including a pair of longitudinal main rocking levers pivotally secured to the part of the spindle extending over the corresponding rail, a plurality of auxiliary rocking systems each including two pairs of auxiliary rocking levers pivotally carried between the front and rear ends respectively of the main rocking levers of each pair, and electromagnets pivotally secured between the front and rear ends respectively of the auxiliary rocking levers of each pair of auxiliary rocking levers.

4. A track-raising unit as claimed in claim 3, comprising two rollers pivotally carried by each electromagnet respectively to the front and rear thereof and slightly projecting beyond the lower operative surface of said electromagnet, said rollers being adapted to engage the upper surface of the corresponding rail and to define thereby a narrow gap between said two surfaces on the electromagnet and on the rail.

'5. A track-raising unit as cla med in claim 3, comprising two bearings rigid with the front and rear respectively of each electromagnet, a roller carried by each bearing round an eccentric axis extending transversely of the machine to project slightly beyond the lower operative surface of said electromagnet, said rollers being adapted to engage the upper surface of the corresponding rail and to define thereby a narrow gap between said two surfaces on the electromagnet and on the rail.

6. A track-raising unit as claimed in claim 3, wherein the electromagnets facing the location of the upper surface of each rail are alined with their polarities in alternatingly reversed sequence.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,388,672 6/1968 Plasser et al. l04-7 ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner RICHARD A. BERTSCH, Assistant Examiner 

